


The Monster

by obsessedwithfictionalboys



Category: Original Work
Genre: Ambiguous Slash, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Minor Character Death, Moral Ambiguity, Morally Ambiguous Character, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Other, Supernatural Elements, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, lots of ambiguity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6293335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessedwithfictionalboys/pseuds/obsessedwithfictionalboys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ah, Angelo. With eyes as bright as the clear, blue morning sky and hair woven from the finest golden thread. My beloved’s murder was untimely and cruel, right before my very eyes as I stood, paralysed with fear. Unable to move. Unable to breathe. Only able to look on and watch as my love’s life was drained. Consumed by such a simple mistake as putting one’s trust in the wrong person."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Monster

“And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.”  ― Madeline Miller, Song of Achilles

 

The carriage gave a small jolt as the winding dirt road finally gave way to rough pavement yellowed with age. My heart pounded against my chest and my breath hastened in anticipation as I palmed the oak wood stake secured firmly against my thigh in a worn leather holster. Outside, the sun dipped low beyond the horizon, obscured by the impenetrable forest. Though it would not let its hidden decent pass unseen, as it painted the sky in vivid oranges and velvet reds, darkening with every minute.

 

I called out to the conductor to halt the carriage. Though there was still a long way to the dauntingly grandiose mansion the trees had begun thinning and I could not risk being discovered when I was so close to accomplishing that which I had spent a lifetime preparing for. And yet as the carriage pulled away, travelling back down the dark, winding road… I found my thoughts wondering, my pugnacity wavering. All my dreads and anxieties that I had worked so hard to bury began to surface once more. My lungs constricted and my hands felt clammy and dripping with sweat as a creeping cold sensation inched up my spine causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up in unease. A thousand questions raced through my mind, a stampede of thoughts and emotions.

 

Would I? Could I? When I finally came face to face with the monster that had haunted my nightmares for so long would my heart not give out, all these years wasted as I stood, paralysed with fear and- no. I scolded myself silently. This was not the time to be getting cold feet. Not when I was this close to avenging my dearest Angelo.

 

Ah, Angelo. With eyes as bright as the clear, blue morning sky and hair woven from the finest golden thread. My beloved’s murder was untimely and cruel, right before my very eyes as I stood, paralysed with fear. Unable to move. Unable to breathe. Only able to look on and watch as my love’s life was drained. Consumed by such a simple mistake as putting one’s trust in the wrong person. Those eyes that once seemed as if they held the answer to life itself now dulled into a barren, lifeless void. Even now I am filled with regret and resent for my lack of action that day. If only I had done something! If I had only moved! Then perhaps my beloved would still be here with me now.

 

I noticed that I had begun unconsciously fiddling with my rifle. Loading, unloading and reloading, again and again and again. A bullet would not kill the monster, of that much I was sure, but it should render it unconscious long enough to get as close as I needed to finish it off once and for all. To rid myself of this guilt and finally be freed from the torturous nightmares and memories that slowly eat away at my entire being until I am left as nothing more than a shell of my former self.

 

I was so close now. So close. I tip-toed silently from tree to tree, avoiding the crisp autumn leaves that littered the ground in abundance. A single window on the side of the building shone brightly through the darkness of night, bested only by the moon itself.

 

As I began looking for footholds on the tree nearest to the window everything seemed to grow so much bigger, as if I were a mere ant in the garden of Eden. As I pulled myself up the enormous trunk my arms shook and my body felt as though it had suddenly been turned to lead. In that moment it felt as if hours passed between each branch when in reality it had probably only been a few seconds.

 

Finally, I reached a branch that lay directly in line with what I now saw was a spacious study with large bookcases frosted with dust lining the walls and a cluttered mahogany desk, behind which, slumped over an old, leather-bound book, was _him_. The monster that had so many years ago murdered my one true love in cold blood. The monster that so many years ago… I had considered a friend. Its back faced towards the window and it took every last inch of restraint I had left not to shoot right then and there. If I was reckless and missed it would be all over. The shot would wake the monster and give away my position leading to what would surely be a painful and meaningless death. I had to get this right. For Angelo.

 

I steadied my breathing and slowly raised my gun. Breathe in, breathe out. Drawing one eye shut, I peered down the smooth surface of the rifle. You can do this, I told myself. Just one shot. You can do this. My trembling fingers tightened around the trigger. Almost there, just a little more pressure and-

 

Suddenly there was a soft click and the door the the study slid open with a slight creak. I quickly drew my rifle up to my chest, pressing my back against the thick trunk of the tree and trying to sink into the inky darkness of the leaves. My position was less than comfortable and I could feel the end of my holster digging into my thigh causing a sharp pinching pain which would surely leave a particularly ghastly mark.

 

In walked a woman, hair as black as night and eyes like endless spirals of sapphires, rubies and emeralds, her belly swollen in a way that only a lady in the early weeks of labour could. She waltzed gracefully into the room, her silver gown pooling at her feet as she walked up to the desk to retrieve a jewel-encrusted chalice filled with a thick red liquid, then turned back around and headed straight toward the door. She paused before the doorway only to glance back at the monster’s sleeping form with a look so full of love, tenderness and concern it made me sick with fury.

 

In a moment of madness, I imagined myself killing the woman. It would be an easy death; quick, painless. I imagined the monster waking to the sound. To the image of one so cherished as she now lay unmoving, a single bullet hole like a blooming rose upon her face. I imagined the monster finding me on my branch outside the window and ending my life in seconds. But the deed would be done, and the monster would finally understand my pain. To live out eternity knowing the one person that mattered most was gone, it was truly the ultimate punishment. The perfect revenge.

 

And then my eyes drifted back to the woman’s belly and my wind snapped back into the reality. How could I possibly think such thoughts? All these years in solitude had driven me crazy with delusions of revenge. To think that one- no, two innocent lives were worth sacrificing just to satisfy my own selfish plan… I was no better than the monster.

 

Then the woman left, one hand holding the cup and the other, banded in gold, cradling her belly as she hummed a soft and peaceful tune, reminiscent of simpler days, when all we had to worry about was good looks and family values. The door shut with a click.

 

I thought briefly of the lives taken by this monster in the past, and of the lives that would continue to be taken long after I am gone. Of the families torn apart and of the devastation brought upon unsuspecting towns. I thought of Angelo, with hair like golden silk and eyes like the morning sky. Then I thought of the woman, so insignificant and yet able to destroy everything I had worked for my entire life in just a few short seconds. Killing her would finally give me the perfect revenge, something I had never thought possible, but it would take two innocent souls with it.

 

Killing the monster had been my intended plan all along, but seeing the way the woman looked at it had sparked something in me. It had reminded me of another look. A look I had been guilty of wearing a long time ago. A look that had disappeared the day Angelo was killed. A look of innocence. A look of love. To kill the monster would destroy the woman just as much as it killing Angelo had done to me. I could never wish that life upon anyone, no matter what it meant giving up.

 

Forgive me, dear Angelo. I only pray I may see you again soon…

**Author's Note:**

> Just a lil short story I had to to for lit studies. idk, it seemed like a good idea at the time :/


End file.
